Playing With Accessories and Trimmings

This is going to be quite a picture-heavy post.  I've been thinking about the incredible things that you can do with some ribbon, so I put on a one-scarf turban, and played with some different pieces of ribbon (and a few other trimmings I had around).  I wanted to take a look at how much of a difference details can make.  I look forward to hearing your input.
Here's what I started with:

First, I did two variations with a narrow navy blue ribbon.

 I particularly like the criss-cross effect in this one.  I'd like to play with more effects in this style- keep your eyes peeled (at least if it goes plausibly well).

Then the effect of adding just one wrap around of different ribbons at different points:

 Finally, a very long, wider ribbon (this one's about an inch or more wide- you can see, this much of it really dominates and transforms what's going on):

And then a few other accessories, since I was already playing, and wanted to show some other effects:

Some of the differences are subtle, others, more dramatic.  How different would the look need to be in order to wear the same scarf two days in a row? I'm thinking that ribbons are a lot easier to pack than whole scarves, especially the larger ones.

Of course, I'm not that efficient or planned-out a packer.  I throw things into a suitcase, and therefore often end up bringing more than I quite actually need.

Travel With Tichels: A Capsule Wardrobe

I dug this up in my drafts folder, and it seems pretty ready to go- so here's a mildly editted version of my writing from last year.

In my (admittedly limited) reading on style blogs, I've encountered the idea of a "capsule wardrobe" for travel- that by packing clothes in similar colors, you can pair things together in different ways, and create a bunch of different outfits with a minimum of stuff to schlep around.  So I decided to experiment with the same idea with tichels.

So here are 9 varied styles, all done with just 3 scarves.  6 of them all use the same 2 scarves.  Looking back, I see I did none with just the blue scarf and the white scarf.  So there are another several variations available, which could break up the similarity of some of these looks quite a bit.

1. 2 scarves, the smaller as a headband, with the ends hanging loose.
2. The same 2 scarves, but with the smaller put on first, folded back over the second/larger scarf.  The second scarf's ends brought up as a crown, and the smaller scarf's ends tied over my bun in a bow.  (They could also be left down, twisted with the larger scarf's ends in the crown, or just wrapped plainly over the bun, or tucked under.)
3. Same scarves, braided together.
4. Ditto, with the braid brought over and around the bun.
5. No braid, but with the ends of the two scarves twisted together in two twists, and wrapped around the bun.
6. Same again, but instead of wrapping the twists around, they're twisted tighter, then bent to twist back around themselves at two lengths.
7. Three scarves, two put on as headbands/folded, and the ends braided together.
8. Each scarf put on just a smidge behind the other, then one end of each of the first two twisted together and brought over as a crown behind the third scarf.  The rest of the ends are hanging (or could be stuffed back underneath), and could be secured with a clip, or a bow.
9. The second two scarves, layered over each other, and the ends brought up and over, each just behind the last.

The differences here are sometimes fairly subtle- but moving back and forth between combining different pairs of the three scarves in any of these different ways, with different profiles- I might alternate between an arrangement that has lots of hanging tails or braids first and then one that creates a lot of height, etc, to make the differences more dramatic.  Switching which two scarves are used will also create more of a sense of variation.

Throwing in a fourth color scarf, or a couple of small embellishments (pin/headband/hairclip) will also make more distinction between styles.

Of course, do I listen to my own advice in this post when I pack? Almost never.  Maybe some time soon I will though.

Another Week, Another Batch of Pictures

Sunday: This is two rectangular scarves.  The bottom one has one end brought over the second, then the remaining three tails are braided, and wrapped around my bun.  One of them- the red scarf that you see less, is two-thirds red stripes, and one third light blue stripes, which gave me a three-colored braid.  It's an arrangement that can be really useful, but also a little awkward.  Nevertheless, these Israeli scarves are major staples of my scarf wardrobe because they stay on so well, are light-weight in the summer, don't slip, and are quite flexible.  (I wore the red scarf again on Monday, and the purple again on Thursday...)  

 Monday: Here's a scarf in a standard bun arrangement, but with a black lace headband arranged over it, farther back than my usual placement.  This was an attempt at using the same very basic ingredients to do something just a little bit different.  Sadly, the picture isn't very clear, but I hope you can get the idea.

Tuesday: Scarf and lace headband in front.  I'd worn a brown blazer with pale embroidery for work, but I didn't get around to taking a picture until I'd already gotten cozy at home, so please, use your imaginations for the full effect.

Wednesday: Two scarves, one of them folded up into a headband, just to make a layer.  There was actually a scarf-braid that went with this, but I forgot about it while I was taking pictures...  (Also, my newest earrings, a gift from my mother.)  

Thursday:  CPE and traveling- definitely something I put together with ease for travel as my first priority.  I'm still going with pulling a braid over my head as my style-of-choice for travel.  I was worried about the bobby-pins, what with going through the metal detector, so I secured it with a headband instead.  This worked out surprisingly well- the headband came off eventually, but the braid stayed in place.

and Friday: At my in-law's.  A striped rectangular scarf, with one end brought over, and the other one twisted, then wrapped behind it.

Traveling Time

I'm making a new stab at a covering for travel.  One of you lovely people (The fine howgiyoret) suggested braiding my hair and pinning it over my head, so that I would really eliminate the bulky stuff behind the neck issue that gets so uncomfortable on long bus trips.  It definitely took some bobby pins, but here's the result.

I'll let you know how it goes  And anyways- here's a slightly different silhouette  while I'm at it.

Any other good tips for covering your head while traveling?

Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves...

(Actually I never read that book.  Should I?)

Rather like the heat of the middle of summer, travel puts certain extra demands on one's head-covering.  Not only are you spending lots of time in one place, but, if you're anything like me, you want to be able to sleep on the bus/plane/train/car without your scarf/etc coming off.

My other pet peeve about traveling is that I want to be able to lean back (see: wanting to sleep) without my bun or other lumps getting in the way.  This is rarely a concern during my every day life, but during a bus trip, it's essential.  If you have short hair, this probably isn't a worry- but my hair is waist length (and I can't bear to cut it)- so even though it's quite fine in texture, it makes a solid lump at the back of my head.

My solution: I braid my hair tightly (to prevent knots), then tie a triangular scarf.  I fold the braid into a vague bow shape- so that some is on the right, and some on the left, vaguely balanced.  Then I take the bottom corner of my scarf and, keeping the braid inside, tuck that corner under the knot of my scarf.  Basically, I make my own snood.  (If I had a real snood, I'm sure that would work- but somehow, I don't.  I have some berets, but a. they're wool and it is still summertime, and b. they seem a little too short and tight over the ears to do this successfully.)

I generally leave the scarf ends to dangle- I've tried making them into a small crown, but they tend to fall down at some point.  So, in the spirit of simplicity, I just left them down this time.

Here's me, home again: